Essay Available:
Pages:
5 pages/≈1375 words
Sources:
2
Style:
APA
Subject:
Literature & Language
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
Document:
MS Word
Date:
Total cost:
$ 18
Topic:
Killing the Mockingbird
Essay Instructions:
Part A: Write about the conflicts or struggles between the forces that animate the novel. There are external conflicts, where characters struggle with another person, nature, society, or fate. There are also internal struggles, where a person is wrestling internally with two opposing thoughts or desires.
1. Write about the conflicts portrayed in the book as the trial unfolds and intensifies.
2. The book is also a commentary on the American system of justice. Atticus' summation states that "there is one institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal on an Einstein…That institution is…the court" (Lee, 1995, p. 173). Discuss the relevance of this statement today.
3. Comment on the different points of view of characters in the courtroom, including the following:
o Tom Robinson
o Mayella
o Bob Ewell
o The judge
o The prosecutor
o The jury
o The sheriff
o The black citizens in the balcony
o Scout
o Jem
o Dill
o Atticus Finch
4. Which of these do you identify with at the trial?
5. One of the salient lessons Scout learns from her father is not to judge others until you've walked in their moccasins. How does inhabiting the various characters' point of view provide depth to the experience of the novel? (Lee is skilled at presenting the complexities of people and situations seen from multiple points of view.)
6. The courtroom drama is an archetypal theme portrayed in novels, films, and television in American literature. Note how this is presented in writing, in anticipation of comparing this to how the courtroom is portrayed in the movie version. Later, you will be asked to comment on which is more effective and why you think so.
Part B. By this point in your reading, you are also beginning to understand the main and supporting characters. In the second part of your assignment, write a paragraph about Atticus, Calpurnia, and Scout;discuss how the author builds the sense of character and what struggles or conflicts each one is experiencing.
Essay Sample Content Preview:
Killing the Mockingbird Chapter 12 - 21Students Name: Schools Name:
Killing the Mockingbird Chapter 12-21
A)Conflicts present during the trialBy the time the trial was going on, white people had control over communities they lived in. The white people feared that the black people would infiltrate their society by marrying whites and having children with them. As a result, interracial marriages were outlawed. Children born from unions between whites and blacks were referred to as "mulatto" because they were regarded to be offspring`s of unnatural union. The interracial union`s fears were that the African American men would rape and impregnate the white women so that they could reach and grasp power from the white men. This led to very serious results of lynching black men because when a white woman was raped, the black men had to take the fall even though they did not commit the fault. The Scottsboro Trials is another conflict. These trials were as a result of the ideals and legislations in previous sessions before the Tom Robinson`s case. In the Scottsboro case, two white women accused nine black men of raping them as they travelled. The Court as an institution of EqualityThe court can be considered as the one institution that makes all people equal. When laws are enacted, they are enacted to serve all the people and a not a particular type of people to the detriment of others. Every person has to seek legal redress when they are aggrieved by another person. Whenever there was a case between a white man and a black person, the court was sought for guidance. It was not the case to just assume that the white person was always right. The presumption of innocence is important to maintain equilibrium in society especially the different classes in society. Justice cannot be owned by an individual, it is vested in a body, and that body is the court. It ensures that every person who is the citizen of a particular country lives fairly without victimization as was witnessed in the book. The court makes us all equal (Lee, 173).Different Points of Views by Different CharactersDuring the trial, different point of views are brought about by the characters. For example, the Sherriff detests black people. He uses racial slurs such as the term "nigga" he even does not bother to call a doctor to come check on the allegedly raped girl. Bob Ewell who is not that respected in the society, has also got a bad feeling towards the black people as he asks the judge to help clean up the "nigger nest" in his neighborhood. He gives a false account by stating that he found Tom having sexual intercourse with Mayella. Mayella is not very sure about what to say, she starts by crying and stating that she fears the defense lawyer Atticus. When she is being cross-examined, she says that she does not remember being hit on the face but she later again says that she had been hit on the face. She gives conflicting information, and being the victim of the crime, this casts a big shadow on her case. She just insists that should the court not sentence Tom, then the court was a coward.
The prosecutor, the jury and the judge seem to have come to the trial with the case already pre-determined. They were just here for formality purposes before they delivered the guilty verdict. The prosecution did not bother to collect enough evidence to support their case. The jury did not take into account the facts of the case as argued by the lawyer, the judge himself was not akin to follow the court`s principle of justice and fairness in order to come with the true and expected verdict. Atticus proves to be a very straight forward person. He answers his daughter about what rape is. He gives a spi...
Killing the Mockingbird Chapter 12-21
A)Conflicts present during the trialBy the time the trial was going on, white people had control over communities they lived in. The white people feared that the black people would infiltrate their society by marrying whites and having children with them. As a result, interracial marriages were outlawed. Children born from unions between whites and blacks were referred to as "mulatto" because they were regarded to be offspring`s of unnatural union. The interracial union`s fears were that the African American men would rape and impregnate the white women so that they could reach and grasp power from the white men. This led to very serious results of lynching black men because when a white woman was raped, the black men had to take the fall even though they did not commit the fault. The Scottsboro Trials is another conflict. These trials were as a result of the ideals and legislations in previous sessions before the Tom Robinson`s case. In the Scottsboro case, two white women accused nine black men of raping them as they travelled. The Court as an institution of EqualityThe court can be considered as the one institution that makes all people equal. When laws are enacted, they are enacted to serve all the people and a not a particular type of people to the detriment of others. Every person has to seek legal redress when they are aggrieved by another person. Whenever there was a case between a white man and a black person, the court was sought for guidance. It was not the case to just assume that the white person was always right. The presumption of innocence is important to maintain equilibrium in society especially the different classes in society. Justice cannot be owned by an individual, it is vested in a body, and that body is the court. It ensures that every person who is the citizen of a particular country lives fairly without victimization as was witnessed in the book. The court makes us all equal (Lee, 173).Different Points of Views by Different CharactersDuring the trial, different point of views are brought about by the characters. For example, the Sherriff detests black people. He uses racial slurs such as the term "nigga" he even does not bother to call a doctor to come check on the allegedly raped girl. Bob Ewell who is not that respected in the society, has also got a bad feeling towards the black people as he asks the judge to help clean up the "nigger nest" in his neighborhood. He gives a false account by stating that he found Tom having sexual intercourse with Mayella. Mayella is not very sure about what to say, she starts by crying and stating that she fears the defense lawyer Atticus. When she is being cross-examined, she says that she does not remember being hit on the face but she later again says that she had been hit on the face. She gives conflicting information, and being the victim of the crime, this casts a big shadow on her case. She just insists that should the court not sentence Tom, then the court was a coward.
The prosecutor, the jury and the judge seem to have come to the trial with the case already pre-determined. They were just here for formality purposes before they delivered the guilty verdict. The prosecution did not bother to collect enough evidence to support their case. The jury did not take into account the facts of the case as argued by the lawyer, the judge himself was not akin to follow the court`s principle of justice and fairness in order to come with the true and expected verdict. Atticus proves to be a very straight forward person. He answers his daughter about what rape is. He gives a spi...
Get the Whole Paper!
Not exactly what you need?
Do you need a custom essay? Order right now: